Doors to Tomorrow
by Professor Padfoot
Summary: 10 years before game. Auron finds Kimahri and asks him to take Yuna up in Besaid while Auron goes to Zanarkand for Tidus.
1. New Life

DOORS TO TOMORROW  
  
Chapter I: New Life  
  
A young man staggered down the mountain trail, clutching a bleeding wound at his side. His red kimono swirled about his in the frosty air as he jammed his fist deeper into his wound to stop the bleeding, trying not to think about what he was touching. He knew he would be dead soon but he must keep going, he owed at least that much to his friends. He willed his stiffening legs to move beneath him and carry him farther down the snow- blanketed mountain, his labored breaths materializing before him in clouds of steam. It was so cold, so deathly cold.  
  
Before him, he could see through his fading vision a blue form moving slowly down the path. What was a Ronso doing so far down the path? Their village was much higher up the mountain. Perhaps this person would help him.  
  
Ignoring the searing pain, the young man hastened his steps and shifted his kimono, trying his best to cover his wound.  
  
"Why so far from the village, Ronso?" he asked when he was in speaking distance of the blue form.  
  
The creature stopped, pulling itself up to its full height. Through the falling snow, the young man could see the long, shaggy blue fur hanging in braids and adornments off the human-like creature. The creature turned to face him fully, showing the facial features of a lion and a proud horn, the unmistakable mark of a Ronso.  
  
"Kimahri has shamed himself," the creature said, shaking his head sadly and motioning with a clawed hand. The young man could now see, though the world now seemed to swirl around him, that the Ronso's horn had been broken.  
  
A broken horn for a Ronso was dishonorable and this one, Kimahri, obviously intended to leave his village on Mount Gagazet and search for a new life elsewhere in Spira.  
  
"Where do you intend to go?" the young man asked, pulling further at his clothing to hide his wound from the piercing yellow gaze of the Ronso.  
  
"Kimahri does not know. A place where no one will mock Kimahri for the shame he has brought on himself."  
  
Perhaps I could still keep my oath, the young man thought.  
  
"My name is Auron and I am going to die soon," the young man said. The Ronso, Kimahri, seemed to shake himself out of his despair and finally notice the wound decorating the young man's kimono, his eyes widening slightly in shock. "I know of a young girl in Bevelle who has no father or mother. I have sworn to take care of her but, as you can see, I am no longer capable of such a task. I realize I am a stranger to you, but my time is running short and you are the last person I can request this of. Will you fulfill my oath?"  
  
Kimahri crossed his arms, thinking. Bevelle, the capital of Spira, was a very crowded city. Surely his broken horn would be recognized as a mark of shame and mocked. "Kimahri wants to help, but he cannot go to Bevelle."  
  
"You don't have to. Take her to Besaid and bring her up there. Besaid is secluded, I'm sure no one there has ever seen a Ronso."  
  
Kimahri seemed to consider silently for a moment, before nodding his head shortly. "Kimahri will help you."  
  
"Thank you, my friend. Her name is Yunalesca, daughter of High Summoner Braska. I believe she is in the care of the priests at Bevelle Temple. Here," Auron breathed, painfully reaching for a leather pouch at his waist and holding it to the Ronso. "Here is all my Gil. Take it and use it to care for her."  
  
Kimahri shook his head. "Kimahri will care for the girl but he will not accept your gold."  
  
Auron shook his head violently, fighting to keep himself standing. "I am dying! I have no need for my gold! Please.... please take it."  
  
The Ronso seemed to fully realize the gravity of the situation and gingerly reached for the pouch before tying it onto his armor. "Let Kimahri take you to the village..."  
  
"I do not need your help, I will be dead soon. Please, hasten to Bevelle."  
  
Kimahri spared the dying young man one final glance, before turning to leave him to die in peace. "You are a good man," Kimahri growled over his shoulder. "Kimahri swears to bring the girl up to be good, like you."  
  
Auron nodded and watched the Ronso pad away through the falling snow, before falling to his knees in pain. He held his side tightly while turning to look back behind him, where drops of his blood stained the pure snow.  
  
He shook his head, feeling the world begin to swim. I can't die here, he thought. I have to live.... for Braska and Jecht. I can't let their deaths be in vain...  
  
Auron sat there some minutes before he felt his strength leave him and he slumped into the snow, watching the winter sky through his cold, glazing eyes. I cannot fail them, he thought, as his limbs began to stiffen. He felt himself shudder, but he knew it was not from the cold around him. He was dead.  
  
And just like that, the pain was gone.  
  
Auron sat up and padded his side with a suddenly renewed strength. Though his kimono was hard with frozen blood, the skin underneath was completely healed. All that remained as evidence of his death was a scar, deep under his robes.  
  
As if on cue, a voice intruded into his thoughts.   
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
Auron barely surpressed a smirk.  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
The voice then grew sadder, almost wistful.   
  
  
  
  
  
Auron looked up, seeing a glowing, swirling abyss materializing over his head.   
  
  
  
  
  
The light from the abyss grew to consume Auron from where he stood on the mountain trail, and he welcomed it with open arms. One day, he would return to retrieve his sword, to find Summoner Yuna and aid her on her quest for the Calm, to be a beacon of hope and knowledge to light a path for change in Spira. But for now, his life was just beginning anew.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
Author's Notes: i hope you all enjoyed that. this is just the exchange i pictured happening on mt. gagazet between kimahri and auron. what did you all think? i hope to get plenty of reviews. And fear not, there will be many more chapters to this story. next chapter: kimahri takes yuna from bevelle temple and learns more about her past. 


	2. Bevelle

DOORS TO TOMORROW  
  
Chapter II: Bevelle  
  
Kimahri stumped into Bevelle Temple, clutching his spear at his side in his great, sweaty paws. He had already faced one run-in with a fellow Ronso in the market, and he hoped he wouldn't have to repeat his performance in the temple.  
  
"Halt! What are you doing here?" A voice called, echoing off the grand walls of the entry chamber.  
  
Kimahri turned to see a small priest, his hands tugging at his long guilded robes so he could run to face the Ronso.  
  
"Kimahri has come for Yunalesca," he growled.  
  
"Yunalesca?" the priest repeated. The priest's eyes ran over the strange Ronso, nearly twice his size, puzzling at the broken horn. "Oh, you must mean High Summoner Braska's daughter, Yuna. She is in the care of the temple and is quite well."  
  
"Kimahri has come to take her away."  
  
"Now see here," the priest said, pointing a reprimanding finger at Kimahri. "You cannot simply burst in here and take her away-"  
  
"Kimahri swore to Auron to take care of her."  
  
"Sir Auron? How do you know Sir Auron?"  
  
"Auron died on Mount Gagazet. Kimahri swore to Auron to fulfill his oath by caring for Yuna."  
  
"So Sir Auron is dead," the priest turned. "This is saddening news indeed." The priest shook his head, slowly continuing. "Sir Auron was once a great Crusader, but he refused to marry the daughter of the high priest. Therefore, Sir Auron was excommunicated from Yevon. The eccentric High Summoner Braska took Sir Auron as his guardian along with a drunk who claimed to be a star Blitzball-player from Zanarkand named Jecht."  
  
"And Braska was Yuna's father," Kimahri concluded slowly. "Where is her mother?" he asked, wanting to know everything about his new charge.  
  
The priest sighed sadly, rubbing the top of his bald head. "It is a sad story...."  
  
One year before--  
  
A young woman stood among the harsh desert sands, adjusting the goggles at the top of her head to a more comfortable position around the base of her neck. The woman turned behind her to watch a small girl picking her through the course sand, clutching small, raggedy doll.  
  
"Hurry up, Yuna," the woman said, resting a hand on her hip. She was a tall woman with curling brown hair that cascaded freely down her back and emerald eyes, the pupil swirling outward like all Al Bhed's eyes did. The woman wore jean shorts and a tank top, normal enough for her people. Metal adornments and electrical instruments hung off every available area, tied to multiple belts or snapped on her heavy combat boots. "The airship will be leaving soon."  
  
"Mommy," the girl said, finally struggling up to her mother, "I don't want to leave Home."  
  
The woman could see tears beginning to form in her daughter's mismatched eyes, one Al Bhed green like hers and the other a deep blue like her father's.  
  
"There, there, Yuna. Don't cry." She gathered the small girl into her arms, ignoring the desert sun beating off her back. "See, your cousin Rikku gave you this nice doll to remember her by. And, besides, in a few days we'll be with Daddy in Bevelle. Remember I told you how pretty Bevelle is?"  
  
The girl nodded, wiping her swollen eyes with the sleeve of her dress.  
  
"The airship is leaving soon, so we must be quick," the woman said, already beginning to walk. "And then we can see Daddy."  
  
The woman and the girl shortly arrived at the airship platform and boarded, placing their backpacks in their room. This airship wasn't really a passenger vehicle, so the room was small with two bunks and barely enough room to turn in.  
  
The woman took Yuna to the bridge, where she immediately saw a face she recognized. "Uncle Cid!" she cried, running into her uncle's open arms.  
  
"Well, if it isn't little Yuna!" Cid walloped, holding the girl up high to peer at her more closely. Cid always stood out in a crowd in his orange one- piece uniform. He had a bald-head with a symbol tattooed on the back of something, probable the icon his favorite Blitzball team. "You're gettin' bigger. Looks like you've been eatin' right."  
  
Her mother chuckled, coming closer to Cid. "Thanks for doing this, Cid."  
  
"No problem!" Cid chuckled. "I brought Brother along too, to teach him the ropes of flying an airship." He leaned in closer, setting Yuna on the floor so she could bother the other pilots. "I was gonna bring Rikku, but I think she's a little too young."  
  
"That's okay, I'm sure Yuna will find ways to amuse herself."  
  
"Now, listen here," Cid lowered his voice to a whisper, peering around cautiously. "There's been some stories 'bout Sin in these parts lately. If anything does happen, I can't spare any of my pilots. Now, the Al Bhed Psyches are board right now, 'cause I'm brinin' them to Luca for the Blitzball tournament. If Sin does come, I want you to go on deck with them and fend Sin off 'til we can move this airship. Once this baby's on course, it'll take a few minutes to change it."  
  
The woman nodded enthusiastically, motioning to the twin revolvers on her belt. "Sure thing, bro'."  
  
"Alright," Cid turned, now shouting to his pilots. "YEEEEEEE-HAW!! Let's go!"  
  
The airship, slowly at first, lifted off the ground. As Yuna could see from the observation deck, the small desert of Bikanel Island was far below and soon behind them. Now, she could see and endless expanse of sea below her, laying out a sky of shimmering blue in every direction.  
  
"You've never been on an airship before, have you Yuna?" her mother asked coming up behind her.  
  
Yuna shook her head, her eyes still transfixed on the glass.  
  
"You know, when I was a girl I-" she sentence was cut short when the lights on board dimmed and began to flash red.  
  
"Sin attack!" shouted Cid's gruff voice over the intercom. "Repeat, Sin attack! All pilots to the bridge! All others with weapons, go to deck!"  
  
Yuna looked up into her mother's eyes, her own odd eyes wide with fright. "Yuna, go to our room and stay there until I come for you," her mother spoke quietly, removing the twin revolvers from her belt.  
  
"But Mommy-"  
  
"Go, Yuna! Now!"  
  
Yuna whimpered and scampered off to her bunk, locking the iron door tightly and wishing Mommy would come back soon and knock on it.  
  
In the present--  
  
The priest shook his head sadly, straightening his robes. "Yuna's mother didn't come back, she was killed that day defending the airship. The ship suffered major damage and plunged into the sea but many people were rescued by a passing ship; Yuna, Captain Cid, and his son Brother included."  
  
Kimahri shook his head sadly, now understanding.  
  
"That is why her father, High Summoner Braska, departed to defeat Sin. To avenge the death of his wife. Now, Yuna has no mother and no father," the priest sighed and began to pace away. "Let me go fetch the girl."  
  
Kimahri had never been in a temple of Yevon before and looked around himself with interest. The entry chamber was badly lit and he had to squint his eyes to peer through the smog created by incense. All around him, in enormous alcoves, were gigantic stone statues of people he could only assume to be former high summoners.  
  
The priest returned just then, holding the hand of a young girl in a white frock whose eyes widened in fear as they came closer to the large Ronso, showing mismatched orbs of emerald and sapphire.  
  
"Yuna, this is Kimahri," the priest said, gesturing to Kimahri. "He is one of the Ronso tribe and he has come to take to you to the Isle of Besaid to live. Remember you learned about Besaid in your lessons? It's a very beautiful place. I'm sure you will be quite happy there."  
  
The girl nodded slowly, pulling stray strands of amber hair over her ear with her stubby, child fingers. She seemed to be a quiet girl, but then, she'd been through a lot. Kimahri didn't want her to be quiet. He wanted this young girl to trust him.  
  
So he knelt, bringing himself to her height. He reached into a pouch strapped to his armor and pulled out a doll he had bought it earlier in the market with the Gil given him by the dying Auron. Yuna eyes lit up with glee when she saw it.  
  
"Kimahri got this for Yuna," he said, holding the doll out to the girl. He knew something about human facial expressions and tried to smile kindly to her, showing all his fangs.  
  
After a second, she got over her fear and slowly, cautiously, took the doll from Kimahri and clutched it close. "Thank you!"  
  
"Would Yuna like to come to Besaid with Kimahri?"  
  
Yuna nodded vigorously, her eyes shining with a new fondness and trust for the powerful Ronso.  
  
"Now, Yuna," the priest said, looking down at her. "You must remember to say your prayers. Be sure that Kimahri takes you to the temple every day."  
  
Yuna nodded, then skipped to the kneeling Kimahri and hugged his arm. Kimahri chuckled and set the small girl on his shoulders so her legs came down either side of his neck and her hands rested on his head. She smiled happily, bouncing her new toy on Kimahri's head.  
  
Kimahri smiled, liking the feeling of being accepted by this young girl who didn't even seem to notice the mark of shame that adorned his forehead. Perhaps he could start a new life after all.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
Author's Notes: yeah, i realize that was sappy. alot of the info for the story from tidbits I picked up while playing the game, and most of then came from talking with rin on the airship. y'know the freaky guy in the yellow jacket with suspenders and the speech impediment? yea, him. i realize there isn't much of a plot yet, but trust me, it picks up from here. i've got a plot all planned out, I just need to open it up, y'know? keep reviewing! 


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